Keep your physical distancing up, said Mayor Copeland

Mayor Craig Copeland addresses city residents at Cold Lake’s sustainability Open House in December.

Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland reminded city residents on Tuesday to keep their physical distancing while shopping for groceries or going to the pharmacy.

He said residents have a done good job and need to continue doing what they’re doing.

“We know everybody’s got to shop or get some fuel for their trucks or go to the pharmacy. We are just asking everybody, if you can just have, just one person from your household, go out and get the supplies.

“Then, when you’re in the stores, try to just respect everybody’s distance. It’s a new normal. Try to keep a couple of metres in front of or behind somebody.”

Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland and I discuss physical distancing in the city.

North Arena used for COVID-19 testing

“We have a great team that’s representing the city and the health professionals. It’s a wide group of people that sit on this and so from various communities, and so, I just want to say to everybody in the Cold Lake area, we have a great team that’s in front of you making these decisions on our behalf,” said Copeland.

“One of the big decisions they made was utilizing the North Arena as a place for diagnostics, so once somebody had maybe some symptoms of COVID, they would do the 811 number. And eventually, they may be sent to get tested and they’d have to go to the North Arena. So the North Arena stood up, the city forces got involved and health professionals from AHS and the local doctors have been great, the nurses – everybody helping out the medical professionals with COVID.”

“The Cold Lake hospital has sort of cut back on some of the elective surgery surgeries that they do. So the hospital is in good shape for any ramp-up in cases. I just wanted to tell the residents that we’re in really good shape here for if the COVID cases were to increase.”

Businesses

“We really encourage everybody that if you want to go to get a bite to eat, there’s those services that are actually delivering the food to your house, or you go to the restaurant and then bring the food out towards your vehicle.

“All the different restaurants or the businesses that have small space are adapting to how they’re going to deal and respect the safe distancing.

“I think everybody in the community is doing a great job. And we just got to keep it up.”

Enforcement of distancing

“Our bylaw officers are going around and so are the RCMP and just sort of seeing who’s open for business, sort of checking in on them and observing and just working with the business community on the rules.

“Some of the people that were open were unaware of how many people that they can have in their building, and it’s just about education and we haven’t gotten into fining people that are breaking the rules right now.

“We have had reports of people having parties in their homes and we’re just encouraging people to just stop that for the time being because really with this virus, you really don’t know who has it.

“And so I think everybody just has to shelter into their house. And if you’re bored, go for a drive with your immediate family, go for a drive and see the world still standing. But I think we’re going to be in this for a few more weeks, obviously. And tonight, we’re looking forward to what the Premier of Alberta has to say. He is going to give an update and maybe some clarification on how long we’re going to be, you know, involved right now.”